My family is originally from the New England area, but I grew up in southwesternOhio, and it's all I know. I've never had the itch to travel, or to move, unless I had to.. My parents still live in the same house that I grew up in, and I can still find marks onmy old bedroom walls from long ago whose meaning have been forgotten over thedecades.

So anyway, a few weeks ago I met a woman at the time clock at work who I hadn'thad the opportunity to speak to before. She was clocking out as I was clocking in, butwe had the chance to exchange a few words before I got to work. The more we talked,the more we found that we had in common; we were both trained in scientific/technicalfields, we both landed somewhere unexpected, and we both felt that we were workingbelow our abilities (and surrounded by the wrong people). In passing, she loaned mea favorite book of hers that she felt I would enjoy, that she couldn't share with anyoneelse. (No, it's of scientific nature--not what you're thinking! )

A couple of weeks later I ran into her, and she mentioned that she was planning a move south, to an area where she used to live. She felt that I was the only personat work who she could tell, or who would care. Long story short, I asked her to lunch,for a chat before she left. As I expected, we chatted non-stop--unusual for me!

I'm the type of person who socializes little, but I get curious about certain people,and I feel the need to satisfy that curiosity. This time I may have the opportunityto see her again, but most likely I won't.

It's not like I'm heartbroken; I hardly knew the woman! But, I still feel that I've missedsomething...

Unlike me, she's the travelling type; she's been to more cities in the past few yearsthan I have been in my whole life. She thinks nothing of packing up and moving atthe drop of a hat. I, on the other hand, dread the thought of even the shortest move.

Anybody else ever been in a similar situation, where you have to leave, or watch someoneleave, when that someone has just recently grabbed your interest?

People come and go in our lives for no apparent reason. As the years passed I stopped wondering why and now merely enjoy knowing them. After all isn't that what life is about...new people and new experiences.

Howevr, I would ask her if she would like to stay in email contact once she has moved, she might enjoy it.

I think it shocked her that I'd be interested in staying in contact!She has all my info; she'll contact me, I suppose, if she's so inclined...It didn't seemthat she was all that interested in sharing an email address, or didn't have one yet...

It IS true that people come and go; it's happened many times before, and will no doubthappen again. You just hate to see 'em leave too soon!